The Selby Tigers
Curse of the Selby Tigers
Hopeless
Nu wave rulez! And so do the Selby Tigers! They deserve an entire review punctuated only by exclamation points! But I won’t do that! Because it’s already getting annoying!
The Curse of the Selby Tigers is a new wave punk rock record with guts and heart and soul and maybe a little brains thrown in there…but in a good way. It starts with an explosion called “Dolph Indicator” – which I happen to think is a very good idea, because you need to know when a Dolph is near – and never lets up through thirteen pogo-worthy songs about everything from politics and self-worth (“Cheerleading is Big Business”) to love and romance (“Punch Me in the Face With Your Lips” is this decade’s version of “The World’s a Mess, It’s in Your Kiss”).
If you’re an emo kid, you might not dig this because it’s just not self-pitying enough, and if you’re into Blink-182 and Limp Bizkit and Apex you really won’t like this because, well, it’s good. I’m getting early-X vibes from this, but they also dig deep for some early B-52’s magic, some early-Husker Du squall – hey, could it be that the Selby Tigers are just the early version of every new wave and punk band I ever loved?
Arzu D2 has a lovely shouty voice, and she and her husband Nathan trade some great slamming guitar lines, and the rhythm section of Daves (except that one is called Sammy G) are solid. But this band is special for two main things: energy and passion. Their main thing seems to be getting people to feel good about themselves, but when they pull the heartstrings, like on album closer “The Prom I Never Had,” you might find yourself getting a little choked up.
The Selby Tigers: http://www.selbytigers.com
